Founding Members get lifetime rate-lock on the platform when it opens, weekly architectural writing in the meantime, and a private channel with the team building it. Fifty seats, then we close the doors.
The honest version. The architecture is done. One hundred seventy-six RFCs. Four thousand sprints. A working system with audit logs, a chmod permission grammar, and an agent-versus-human distinction at the envelope level. Built solo over the last ten months on a fixed budget, written between truck-stop wifi sessions, with the kind of attention to detail you only give a thing when there's no Series A to throw at a refactor.
The funding meeting last Wednesday didn't land. The runway runs out tomorrow. Founding Members keep the lights on while the platform reaches v1. In exchange, you lock in a lifetime rate on the platform's Pro tier at whatever the lowest price band looks like when general purchase opens, you get the architectural writing now, and you get a vote on what gets built next.
Get the writing. No payment.
The writing plus the private channel.
Lifetime rate-lock when the platform opens.
When the StoneForge platform opens for general purchase, there will be a Pro tier. The Pro tier will have a price. That price is going to move up over the first 24 months as we add capability and serve enterprise contracts.
Plank Owners lock in the lowest Pro price that exists at launch, for as long as they keep their subscription active. Not free. Rate-locked. The platform's billing cycle never raises your number; if we raise the price band for everyone else, you stay at your original rate.
This is honest pricing for an honest situation. We're not promising lifetime free because token economics are deflating fast enough that lifetime promises are bad math. We're promising you stay on the cheapest tier we ever offered, and you got there before the room filled up.
Weekly architectural writing. One Substack post per week, every week, for as long as runway permits. Each post distills one piece of the architecture, one incident in the AI-infrastructure space, or one design decision from the 176-RFC corpus. No content farming. No vendor-handout reposts. Just the work, written down clearly.
A private channel for paid subscribers. Threaded discussion on each post, plus open Q&A on what's getting built next. Plank Owners get pinned-comment authority. Everyone gets a vote.
Monthly group call for Plank Owners. Hour-long video conversation, one Saturday morning a month. Roadmap review, technical deep-dive on one post topic, open-floor questions. Recorded for asynchronous Plank Owners who can't make the live call.
Public roadmap, kept current. The roadmap lives on the site. Plank Owners' input weights it. Changes are documented in writing so the contract is visible.
An honest progress update if the runway changes. If something material shifts, paid subscribers hear it first. Including bad news. You're funding the work; you get the truth.
One-page form. Tell us a little about who you are, what you'd want out of being a Founding Member, and which tier fits. We process applications by hand for the first fifty seats. You'll hear back within 48 hours.
Prefer email? founding@stoneforgeai.com works too. Limited to 3 submissions per day per IP to keep spam out.
When does the platform itself open?
When v1 is ready. Target is fall 2026. Founding Members get first-look access before general announcement. If the runway is healthy, we open with the Founding price band locked. If the runway is tight, Founding Members vote on the order of work.
What happens to my rate-lock if I cancel and rejoin later?
The rate-lock is tied to continuous subscription. If you cancel and rejoin, you join at the then-current rate. Pause your subscription for up to 90 days without losing the lock if life intervenes; just write in.
Is this a charity or a business?
A business. We're building infrastructure that enterprise buyers will pay real money for. The Founding Members model is how we close the gap between "architecture is done" and "first paying enterprise contract." It's the readers' contribution, and the contract is that the writing keeps coming and the platform reaches v1.
Why not just raise venture capital?
Tried that. Funding meeting last Wednesday didn't land. The Founding Members model lets us pick our investors directly and skip the convertible-note math. The readers who think the architecture argument is right are the readers who decide what gets built next. That's a better deal for both sides than a Series A would have been.
Can I read the writing before paying?
Yes. Every post has a free version on the public site. The subscriber tier adds early-access, private comments, and the monthly call. Start with the most recent issue and decide.
Do you take crypto / wire / one-time donations?
For Founding tiers, Substack handles the billing (card or PayPal). For one-time support outside the subscription, write in and we'll point you at the right channel.